The Vancouver Sun published a five part series about the problem of homelessness in Canada’s third largest city. The Downtown Eastside is considered to be one of the most impoverished areas in the country.

The most interesting part of the series for me was the section which interviewed two youth living on the streets. They break the stereotypes I’ve mentioned in a previous post because they are have graduated from high school and aren’t addicted to drugs or alcohol. They also bring up an interesting point about how homeless people have stereotypes about other homeless people, highlighted in the quote “We always try to find hidden places away from the junkies,” says Allen. “They’re always waking you up and asking for rigs. When we tell them we don’t do drugs, they say, ‘What kind of homeless people are you?'” (Vancouver Sun, 2008)